Bipolar Within Family Life

11/12/13

Isabella Smith

“bipolar affects family life in many ways when mixed with drug and alcohol abuse”.

Table of contents

Title page 1
Table of contents 2
Abstract 3
Introduction 4
Literature review 5
Methodologies 6
Results and findings 8
a) questionnaire 9
b) observation 10
c) interview 11
Discussion 12
Conclusion 13
Bibliography 14
Appendix
a) Questionnaire 15
b) All notes and referenced material 16-18

Abstract

As per my report you can tell that bipolar does affect family life in many ways when mixed with drug abuse and addiction. I explored the opinion of a patients partner and covertly observed a bipolar patient with substance abuse problems as well as gaining a brief overview on bipolar awareness and public opinion.
Through research methodologies such as interviews, observation and questionnaires I wished to confirm my hypothesis being…

“bipolar affects family life in many ways when mixed with drug and alcohol abuse”.

Acknowledgements …

Thank you to my class teacher Ms Murray for all of her continued assistance and support throughout my project, thank you to all who participated in my survey and questionnaire and to my Father for his ongoing opinion and patience.

Special thank you to Rebecca Wicombe for being so helpful throughout this unit of work.

Introduction…

For my IRP I will be using personal experiences and opinions to assist me as well as a balanced and unbiased set of research methodologies to address and prove my hypothesis, this being – “bipolar affects family life in many ways when mixed with drug and alcohol abuse”. This is an extremely sensitive topic for me and I predict I will be emotionally affected while carrying out this research project.

My topic relates to families – specifically family functions and even more specifically the emotional, social and economic strain bipolar has on a family’s wellbeing.

Literature review…

Bipolar disorder, also known as manic depression, is a mental illness classified as a mood disorder. People who suffer with bipolar disorder experience episodes of an elevated or agitated mood known as mania (or hypomania, depending on the severity) alternating with episodes of depression.
A number of medications can be used to treat bipolar disorder.
Certain medications assist the brain to restore its usual chemical balance and help control the mood swings and depression. There are some symptoms of bipolar disorder that generally react well to medication these include the psychosis and depressive symptoms bipolar cause.
Bipolar disorder can include the following symptoms – elevated mood, extreme happiness, risky behavior, sleep apnea, irritability, overwhelming sadness, low concentration, loss of appetite, hopelessness and suicidal thoughts. Severe symptoms can lead to hospitalization. Commonly abused classes of prescription drugs by mental illness patients include opioids (for pain), central nervous system (CNS) depressants (for anxiety and sleep disorders), and stimulants (for